“First they opened fire and lobbed a hand grenade and killed two local police officials. Then they entered in the compound and a gunfight erupted,” he told the AFP news agency.

Four security guards and a civilian died.

Peshawar stands on the main route from Pakistan into Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass, and is close to the ungoverned tribal areas considered to be militant havens.

The city is frequently rocked by bomb blasts.

The province’s chief minister, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, escaped an assassination attempt on Friday as he travelled to a political rally and in December his deputy was killed by the Pakistan Taliban.

Pakistan’s government is due to complete a full five-year term in March. Successful elections would mean the first democratic transition in the country’s 65-year history but some analysts fear the current wave of violence could prompt the government to delay polls.